Jury picks lesser charge in fatal high school punching case

1of3Joseph Garcia, attorney for the teen charged in the fatal punching of Logan Davidson at Canyon High School in 2013, praises the jury's verdict Tuesday 5-5-15 of "true" to the charge of delinquent conduct/simple assault against his client during a press outside the Comal County Courthouse in New Braunfels.Photo: Zeke MacCormack / San Antonio Express-News

2of3Logan Davidson, 15, died in November 2013 after a Canyon High classmate punched him in the head.Photo: /Courtesy Matthew Davidson

3of3An altar dedicated to Logan Davidson, a Canyon High School student who died on Wednesday after being beaten on Tuesday, is set up at the school after a vigil on Nov. 14, 2013.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

NEW BRAUNFELS — Two mothers broke down when a jury Tuesday returned a guilty verdict of misdemeanor assault against the classmate who fatally punched Logan Davidson at Canyon High School in 2013.

The crime had struck an emotional chord in this community. Prosecutors had asked for a murder or manslaughter verdict.

Leaning on supporters and sobbing, Kim Davidson quickly left the courtroom where, over the past month, the attack that killed her 15-year-old son had been exhaustively described through witnesses, photographs and forensic evidence.

“All we had wanted was for Logan’s attacker to be held accountable... and today’s verdict saddens us deeply,” the Davidsons said later in a statement. “We feel it sends the wrong message to the young people in our community, and beyond, that a child’s life is worth nothing more than a misdemeanor.”

Tears of relief and joy marked the cheeks of the defendant’s mother, no longer fearful that her son, now 16, would face a potentially lengthy prison term.

“We’re happy the jury decided the case on the facts,” she said, having sat beside her husband and son throughout the trial.

The defendant is not identified here because he is a juvenile Testimony indicated Davidson antagonized him for two days, throwing objects at him in chemistry class, and ignored warnings to stop. The defendant attacked as Davidson left the room, hitting him with two lunging punches that broke Davidson’s jaw and lacerated an artery in his neck, causing his death the next day.

The defendant testified Davidson provoked him verbally just before the attack but that he never intended to kill him. He cried when a prosecutor pressed him to acknowledge that his punches killed Davidson.

Prosecutors also have charged another former classmate, Enrique Gonzales II, with murder for his role in the dispute that led to the attack. Testimony from other students described him as helping Davidson throw things at the first defendant. Gonzales, now 18, is free on bail awaiting trial.

The statement issued Tuesday by the Davidson family said, “Logan was not a bully, nor ever bullied his attacker, contrary to the rumor and speculation on social media.”

“I just really want to thank God,” said the defendant, clearly relieved as he spoke with well-wishers outside the courtroom.

In the parlance of juvenile proceedings, the jury returned a verdict of “true” against him for the deliquent conduct of simple assault. Comal County Court-at-Law Judge Charles A. Stephens II said he would pass sentence on July 2.

The judge could assess up to a year in a juvenile facility, said the teen’s lawyer, Joseph Garcia.

Garcia, after visiting with jurors, praised them for their diligence. He said some told him they favored a true verdict for felony assault, but couldn’t consider that option because prosecutors did not include it in the instructions to the jury.

The trial was put on hold for nearly two weeks after prosecutors challenged Stephens’ decision to include misdemeanor assault as an option for jurors. The 3rd Court of Appeals on April 24 sided with Stephens.

In a statement issued Tuesday after the verdict, District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said that allowing jurors to consider the lesser offense opened the door to an unjust result.

If jurors might have backed a felony assault charge, she said, then she regretted not giving them that option. “Having caused Logan’s death, (the puncher) certainly deserved to be convicted for a felony,” she said.

Courthouse visitor Destiney Shelden, 21, recalled how social media outlets had lit up as news spread that a classroom dispute that began with the throwing of paper wads cost Davidson his life.

“It was crazy,” she said. “Everyone was sad and there was a bunch of people that were super mad.”

As she passed news crews assembled outside the courthouse, Isela Minjarez, 35, was eager to learn the trial’s outcome.

“Hopefully, it’s a wake-up call for teenagers, knowing how fast something can turn bad. He almost threw his life away,” she said of the defendant.

Attorney Susan Schoon, who represents Gonzales, said she was happy for the juvenile defendant over the verdict, which she hopes will lead Tharp to consider dropping the murder charge against her client. “My guy never even threw a punch,” Schoon said.